Anyone who has had the chance to meet Jake Baiz (‘21) around campus knows that he has an inseparable relationship with football. Growing up in a football family, he spent weekends on the side-lines of Rancho Cucamonga High School watching his father Nick Baiz coach their CIF D1 football team. He witnessed many of his high school athlete idols continue their careers at in the NCAA level, and some even making it to the NFL.
From his days of playing flag football in fifth grade and constant football-talk in family gatherings (his two uncles are also Football coaches), it has always been a dream of his to one day play division one football in college.
On Friday, November 13th, his dream turned into reality as he found out that he would be continuing his football career at the University of California, Davis, a school that competes in D1 NCAA football, after a short phone call with Coach Tim Keane, the UC Davis assistant coach.
The division one offer was a huge blessing to the senior wide receiver and defensive back, who captains the Gauls and racked up 471 reception yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions in his junior year. Despite his strong performance, his dreams of playing division one football took a big hit with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was hoping to use this senior season to prove that I am a D1 player, but with the pandemic making college recruiting a mess I was not really able to do that,” Jake said. “This offer was not exactly something I was expecting, but I feel like this is just the perfect situation for me to continue my football journey.”
November 13th, 2020 would forever go down as a special day for Jake and his family, as he describes the moment that he found out he would be a division one athlete.
“That was one of the craziest days of my life. The coach told me I got a spot, and I started fist punching the air as my other hand was on the phone trying not to act overly excited,” Jake said. “He told me I got training camp in June, that he would send me a letter to sign for signing day and that was it. The whole call lasted for about five minutes and it was just totally unexpected.”
Nick Johnson (‘19), who plays football for Arizona State University, advised Jake throughout the entire recruitment process. Jake explained that Nick’s advice gave him the patience to wait out his other offers from D3 schools, which ultimately gave him the chance to play at UC Davis.
While the offer certainly came as a huge surprise for Jake, there was no doubt that it was fully deserved.
“Jake is no doubt one of the top receivers in our group; his incredible work ethic and give–it–100% mentality pushes each and every one of us to be just like him,” said Ethan Caldecott (‘21), who is the starting quarterback for the Gauls. “He is almost kind of like a quarterback among the receivers as he always leads by example.”
Jake explained that his mentality came from the chip on his shoulder as a smaller guy on the field. Football generally favours taller athletes, especially at the wide receiver position. The ability to catch balls over the defenders or simply overpower them is highly valued. However, Jake’s chip has pushed him to work hard and overpower defending cornerbacks with clean, cunning route-running, rather than the traditional muscle match.
Indiana Viramontes (‘21), Jake’s fellow wide receiver on Webb’s football team, was also particularly thrilled at Jake’s personal accomplishment.
“Jake’s work ethic is amazing,” said Indiana. “He never takes a day off and is always striving to be a better player. Over the summer I have worked out with him and have only noticed great improvements. The sky is the limit for Jake.”
Boasting a total of 30 conference championships, the most recent of which in 2018 in the Big Sky conference, the UC Davis Aggies are a highly competitive football program where Jake will enjoy a bright future both athletically and academically.
Jake has trailblazed a path for the Webb football program. Although the school is not renowned for their athletics program, Jake hopes that his commitment will change the way people see Webb.
